Belgian VAT Desk

Belgian VAT Desk is a tax advisor company which specializes in advising economic actors on VAT related matters both nationally and internationally.
We service  principally commercial organisations in different sectors, including professional and service industries, as well as non-profit organizations with:

• VAT registration and tax representation for foreign companies
• Foreign VAT reclaim
• VAT advice
• VAT audit and assistance with VAT obligations
• Presence during tax audits conducted by the Belgian VAT authorities

VAT FLASH N°510

Invoicing rules changes - In the starting blocks ?

In the current context, fiscal authorities (in Belgium and abroad) appear extremely strict on compliant invoices. It regularly happens fort a VAT control office to disallow deduction of VAT on an invoice simply because the document shows some formal shortcomings (absence of VAT number, goods and services description insufficient, currency used, etc ).

This situation can be particularly painful in case of a VAT claim the business legitimately thought it would recover but that ends up being a final cost because the deduction was rejected.

In less than a year (1/1/2013), a new European Directive will modify invoicing rules by harmonizing them throughout the EU Member states. The new regime will be at the same time stricter and more flexible according to the nature and the amount of operations.

There is no point in running, better leaving on time !

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VAT FLASH N°509
Importation of goods followed by an intracommunity delivery

Context
The importation of goods is exempted from VAT if followed by a supply or transfer of those goods to a taxable person in another Member State. This exemption enables the importer to avoid pre-financing VAT at the moment of the importation.

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VAT FLASH N°508   

Storage of goods- a Belgian story

It often happens that a foreign company uses a Belgian provider to temporarily store their goods. This storage service may be accompanied by other services (handling, loading, unloading, transportation of goods to the final destination, etc.). The service provided can consist of a passive use (simply providing a storage space) or an active use in the field of providing storage services ("warehousing" contract - complex set of services).

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VAT FLASH N°507

Monthly refund of VAT credit 

Until today, monthly VAT refunds (through Belgian VAT returns) were only possible for businesses involved in international deliveries of goods. Due to the economic crisis, the Belgian government has decided to extend the possibility of monthly refunds to certain services suppliers.